#HTE

A Design for a Pen That Won’t Dry Out

As I browse through Kickstarter, I’m less impressed by the Bluetooth-enabled this-and-that and more impressed by small improvements to everyday objects.

At least once a week I’ll reach for a ballpoint pen–and draw or write some ghost lines as the pen’s gone dry, then will scribble on the back of an envelope to get the pen going. A minor annoyance, but a consistent one. So this new Allbutton Airless Pen, which uses a vacuum-sealed tube and a tiny little hatch to prevent the ink from drying out, looks pretty darned good to me:

Here’s how it works:

At $9 for 3 pens, they’re pretty affordable, and backers apparently agree: At press time the Airless had $26,735 in pledges on a $10,000 goal. They’re also selling sets of multiple colors that come in a handsome canvas roll, and those run a little over a buck per pen. If you’d like to get in on it, there’s still a few days left to pledge.